Father of missing Tenn. teen believes his daughter is still alive: ‘We just don’t want to go on without you’

The father of a missing Tennessee teen who is believed to have been abducted by her former teacher spoke publicly about his daughter's disappearance Saturday, expressing hope that his daughter is still alive — and urging her to come home.

Mary Catherine Elizabeth Thomas is one of 10 children, and her siblings admired her, according to her father, Anthony Thomas.

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"The other kids sort of looked up to her a lot of times for guidance," he told NBC affiliate WBIR-TV.

Elizabeth Thomas, 15, vanished Monday. She was last seen at a Columbia, Tenn. restaurant. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Thomas described his 15-year-old daughter as affable and athletic, but also vulnerable.

He said Tad Cummins — the suspect in Elizabeth Thomas' disappearance — had told his daughter that he had been in the FBI and CIA.

"I tried to convince her that you don't go from jobs like that down to teaching at a rural school," Thomas told WBIR-TV.

Elizabeth Thomas has been missing since Monday. She was last seen at a Columbia, Tenn. restaurant. Security footage captured the 50-year-old Cummins fueling his car at a nearby shell station.

Cummins, a former health science teacher at Culleoka Unit School, is now one of Tennessee's most wanted men. A warrant is out against him for sexual contact with a minor.

Josh DeVine, spokesman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said authorities have received about 250 tips, from 24 states, none of which have led them to Cummins.

Tennessee authorities say they've received about 250 tips from 24 states regarding Elizabeth Thomas' disappearance. But none have led to Tad Cummins' capture. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

"Having now been on the run for more than five days, Cummins may have taken her, frankly, anywhere," DeVine said.

The TBI believes Cummins is armed with two handguns and is "extremely concerned for the well-being of Elizabeth Thomas."

Cummins may have abused his role as a teacher "to groom this vulnerable young girl for some time in an effort to lure and potentially sexually exploit her," DeVine said.

Thomas is fearful for his daughter's safety. "How does he take her to a doctor? If something happens to her, if she gets injured, how is she going to get to a doctor?" he told the local media outlet.

Police are hunting for Tad Cummins, a former teacher. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

"You just hope that you're going to find her alive."

He addressed his daughter too, in hopes that she might be watching the broadcast.

"We all love you very much and we miss you. The house is not the same without you here. We just don't want to go on without you," he said.